MOSCOW (Reuters) - A meeting of the Russia-NATO Council may take place within weeks for the first time since the Ukraine crisis erupted in 2014, Alexey Meshkov, a deputy Russian foreign minister, was cited as saying on Friday by Russian news agencies.

“I do not rule out it happening in the coming weeks,” Meshkov was quoted as telling reporters.

NATO has previously said it could not convene such a meeting because of continuing differences with Russia over Moscow’s support for pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine among other issues.